Saudi Arabia Railways orders 33 EMD locomotives and 780 freight wagons

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has placed a major freight package to grow capacity on its Northern Railway: 33 new EMD locomotives from Progress Rail, around 780 freight wagons from Greenbrier and a €22 million, five-year maintenance contract with Alstom. The deals were signed at InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin in the presence of Transport Minister and SAR chairman Saleh Al-Jasser, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

33 heavy-haul locomotives for the Northern Railway

Progress Rail, the Caterpillar subsidiary, will supply 33 EMD SD70ACS locomotives, a heavy-haul AC-traction model built for desert conditions. They will haul phosphate as well as other mining and industrial freight on SAR's Northern Railway, and take SAR's fleet of EMD locomotives past 150 units. Neither the value nor the delivery schedule has been disclosed.

The two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding to study local manufacturing, workforce training, supply chains and lifecycle services in Saudi Arabia. SAR chief executive Bashar Al-Malik called the order a "strategic step in strengthening SAR's freight capabilities".

About 780 wagons, including SAR's first intermodal cars from Greenbrier

Greenbrier reports an order for 780 railcars (the Saudi Press Agency gives 782): tank cars for phosphoric acid and molten sulphur, plus intermodal units. It is Greenbrier's first intermodal sale to SAR, a customer since a 2015 tank-car order. The tank cars are built at Greenbrier's plants in Mexico and have already started shipping. The split between wagon types and the order value were not published.

Alstom: €22 million to keep the locomotives connected

Alstom has won a five-year, €22 million contract under its FlexCare Perform service to support the critical onboard systems of SAR's North freight locomotives, the equipment that monitors train performance, manages speed and communicates with the signalling infrastructure. The scope covers real-time monitoring, spare parts, upgrades, digital tools and training. According to Alstom, the North–South line carries about 13.5 million tonnes a year.

SAR also signed two memoranda, with Shenyang and with Knorr-Bremse, together with local company Estenad, to transfer technology and to manufacture and maintain brake components in the Kingdom.

Part of the phosphate line expansion

The orders come as SAR doubles its phosphate line. In August 2026 it awarded Alomaier Trading & Contracting a contract of about SR4 billion to double 100 km of track between the AZ1/Nariyah yard and the Ras Al-Khair industrial port, the first of four planned packages, according to MEED. More track and more locomotives together raise line capacity for the mining exports that are central to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 industrial strategy.

TrainsNews analysis

Heavy-haul in the desert is a rolling-stock challenge first: AC traction gives better adhesion for long, heavy trains, but sand and heat punish cooling systems, filters and brakes, which is why SAR is pairing new locomotives with a long-term maintenance contract and brake-parts localisation. Molten sulphur adds its own constraint: it must stay heated in transit, so the tank cars are specialised, insulated vehicles. The Alstom scope is the most telling detail for an engineer: as the line is doubled and traffic grows, the reliability of onboard equipment that talks to trackside signalling becomes as important as the number of locomotives. Capacity on a freight corridor is set by the weakest link, and SAR is now working on track, traction and train control at the same time.

Read also: Saudi Arabia Railways takes 10 more Stadler intercity trains and our Haramain High Speed Railway guide. More news in Middle East.

Sources: Saudi Press Agency (26 September 2026); Progress Rail press release (22 September 2026); Greenbrier release via AJOT (22 September 2026); Alstom release via Zawya (23 September 2026); MEED, track doubling (20 August 2026).